Newborns and infants experience immediate and long-term benefits from breast milk feeding that are well documented. (See Cunningham A. S., Jelliffe D. B., Jelliffe E. F., Breast feeding and health in the 1980s: a global epidemiological review. Journal of Pediatrics. 1991, 118: 659-666). These benefits include providing protection against many illnesses caused by allergies, bacteria and viruses, such as stomach viruses, respiratory illnesses, ear infections, meningitis and the like. (See Fallot M. E., Boyd J. L., Oski F. A., Breast-feeding reduces incidence of hospital admissions for infection in infants. Pediatrics. 1980, 65:1121-1124). Breast milk feeding also may increase intelligence and fight obesity.
Nursing mothers may desire to impart the above-noted benefits of breast milk to their infant when the two are separated. Additionally, traditional nursing may not be possible or convenient at all times and locations. Thus, to extract breast milk to later feed to the infant, nursing mothers can use a breast pump. The extracted breast-milk can be fed to the infant using a bottle fitted with an artificial teat.
In order to remove milk, a milk ejection reflex (MER) must first occur. The mechanism to initiate an MER is not precisely understood, and is not always readily reproduced with available commercial breast pumps.
Commercial breast pumps use vacuum (negative air pressure) applied to the mother's breasts to extract milk. Such devices are typically large, loud and energy-inefficient, compromising discretion and portability. Moreover, vacuum to extract breast milk is completely different than the suckling action of the infant; in which the infant's mouth is filled only with liquid, no air. Worse still, breast pumps using only vacuum can cause significant pain or even edema in nursing mothers.
Therefore, it is desirous to provide an improved approach to breast pumps that more closely mimics the natural suckling action of the infant, is discrete in use and does not cause pain or edema.